Web 2.0 is linking people.
Cruise 2.0 is linking cruisers to booking agents, travel discounters, reviews (by actual cruisers not professional critics) and self-created travel blogs. Where is it going?
The article "Understanding the Psyche of Tomorrow's Travellers" states future cruisers “have grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, where landline telephones are considered a waste of space as they live on their cell phones and communicate via texting…prospective college roommates have already checked each other out on social networking sites, where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.”
The trend is already picking up considerable momentum. A recent article from Theodore Koumelis "Web 2.0 playing big role in decision process" states "research conducted in August 2008 by Prophis Research with online US adults has shown that, when compared with a range of offline and online sources for travel decision-making, Internet sources are largely seen to be near the top of the list."
I envision a cruise ship version of classmates.com. Select the line, ship and date. Proudly receive a “badge” (an electronic version of state stickers RV vacationers place on their vehicles). This automatically invites you to link to all others who were passengers on the same ship – opening communication channels to facilitate discussions, share photos, blogs, videos etc., Additionally, this would be a multilingual site (as another Koumelis article importantly points out) to facilitate the expansive international cruise and online growth.
The website would facilitate communication about:
- who else was on your cruise ship at the same time as you?
- what they thought of the experience, or what other cruises they would recommend?
- where they booked their travel or what they paid for the same trip?
- What they recommend for on-board and offshore activities?
- Ever meet someone on-board you want to get into contact with but don’t know how to find them?
- Ever want to contact someone who cruised a specific ship to ask a question (how about what it was like on the Carnival Miracle that left New York City on Aug. 29 (click here for story)?
Yes, there are cruise groups on other sites, facebook, flickr, etc., and yes there are cruise review sites, CruiseCritic, Cruisemates.com etc., However, in the ever evolving world of the web there are always opportunities to bring the next viral application to the market.
I would like to hear you thoughts. Please post your opinion.
Related articles
- Making Sure A Stretch Cruise Ship Is Tougher Than It Looks (gizmodo.com.au)
